Mexico has excellent cellular phone service. If you do not currently have cellular telephone service you will be able to subscribe to one of the many Mexican cellular services available by going into a provider and buying a phone and picking a service plan.

Cellular coverage in Mexico is available almost everywhere. TELCEL is the largest telephone company in Mexico and has an extensive network across the whole country. They offer a wide variety of plans ranging from International plans, where you have the ability to use your phone in our neighbor city of San Diego, to a basic National Plan where you have a set minute plan with mobile internet service and SMS’s. They also offer a prepaid service with a wide selection of ways to add money into your account.

Telcel provides services under the GSM technology and LTE for 4G mobile internet. 4G technology is available now in Rosarito, Tijuana and Ensenada.

You can pay directly at their office at the teller, or pay at a designated collection facility such as banks, convenience stores and supermarkets. You may chose to have a professional service pay for your Mexico utilities, which we highly recommend.

You may also check your bill and pay online by registering on their website CLICK HERE

3. HOW TO SIGN UP FOR THE MEXICO CELL PHONE COMPANY (TELCEL)

To sign up for Telcel’s postpaid service you need to go to one of their offices with the following requirements:

Picture ID

Proof of address (Electric Bill, Water Bill or Tax Bill)

3 personal references (That live in Mexico)

Have your credit score checked with the Mexican Credit Bureau

A credit card or an initial deposit depending on the plan that you need.

To buy the prepaid service from Telcel you do not require any documents, however, you may need to register your personal information (such as name and address) during your first call to comply with the communication laws in Mexico.

To find out the cost of the service please refer to Telcel’s website CLICK HERE.

Rates to and from cell phones in Mexico are higher in comparison with land line calls but you should be able to find a calling package that fits your budget. Prepaid calling cards are popular and they will help you to stay within your budget.

AT&T (Formerly Nextel) - They are the second largest company in Mexico, they offer cell phone services under the GSM technology and 4G mobile internet, it is the only company that can connect to other users across the American continent via a walkie-talkie feature called Direct Connect, this includes users on Sprint (formerly Nextel in the U.S.) with the service on their mobile plans.

Movistar - This is another large company in Mexico, although fairly new in comparison to Telcel and Nextel, Movistar is growing rapidly due to their very popular prepaid plans that include unlimited access to social media and large data packages. They rely on GSM technology (shared with Telcel) and offer 4G for mobile internet.

Iusacell - This company is rather small in terms of users and coverage, however, it is the only company that uses CDMA (compatible with Verizon and Sprint in the U.S.) and they offer 4G mobile data in limited areas.

If you plan on traveling or moving to Mexico and already have a cellular phone, you will want to ask your current cellular service provider about an International Roaming Plan to be able to send and receive calls within Mexico. You will want to do this before you arrive to Mexico in order to have access to your services when you arrive in Mexico. It is a lot easier to use your cell phone in Mexico if you take care of your service plan before you leave home.

Every carrier has a different way to dial phone numbers while you are in Mexico, please refer to your carrier’s website to learn how to use your current phone while in Mexico.